A dashcam camera caught the exact moment a business jet nose-dived into a Florida neighborhood, killing all nine people on board in seconds.
Quick Take
- A Learjet 60 crashed near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North in Palm Beach County around 12:50 p.m. on November 1.
- All nine people on the plane died, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
- The jet was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it suddenly dropped more than 26,000 feet in about a minute.
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating, but a cause could take more than a year to confirm.
Jet Goes Down Near Busy Roadway
The crash happened close to Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, in an area near Greenacres. The FAA identified the aircraft as a 22-year-old twin-engine Learjet 60. Palm Beach County authorities closed the stretch of road and told drivers to stay away while crews dealt with fires and debris scattered across the scene.
Dashcam and witness video captured flames and a steep, fast fall before impact. The footage shows the jet dropping almost straight down, matching official descriptions of the crash as sudden and violent. Governor Ron DeSantis said the aircraft looked like a missile coming down, a description that spread quickly across news coverage and social media.
Nine Deaths Confirmed by Federal Officials
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on social media on November 1 that all nine people aboard the plane died. Local and national outlets repeated that number as the official death toll. One early report said fatalities had not yet been confirmed, which is common in the first hours after a crash, before federal officials settled on the final count.
The FAA said the Learjet 60 took off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. That means the plane was well into its route when it went down in Florida, far from either end of its planned trip.
A Steep, Fast Drop From Cruising Altitude
FAA data showed the jet dropped from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in just over a minute. That works out to roughly 350 feet per second, an extremely fast descent for a business jet. Investigators have not yet explained what caused that drop. The available reports do not include radar data, flight recorder results, or a technical breakdown of the descent.
No information has been released yet about the plane’s registration number, its owner, or the identities of the crew and passengers. Without those records, investigators cannot yet connect the crash to maintenance history or pilot experience.
Investigation Could Take Months
The NTSB will lead the investigation, with the FAA assisting, and plans to release updates as work continues. Aviation crash investigations typically take 12 to 24 months to finish, according to the NTSB’s own guidance on general aviation accidents. A preliminary report, expected within weeks, will only include basic facts gathered at the scene. It will not include an analysis of what caused the crash, and the NTSB has cautioned that early reports should not be used to guess at a cause.
The NTSB investigation into the N722BD Learjet 60 crash (case ERA27MA026) is in its earliest stages as of the evening of November 2, 2026.
Key facts from the November 2 NTSB briefing
• Lead agency: NTSB (with FAA support). About 20 investigators are on scene. The operator…— sᴏᴍᴍᴇʀ ᵗʰʸᵐᵉ (@jamaicanonX) November 3, 2026
That gap between what is known now and what investigators will eventually determine is normal for crashes like this one. The location, aircraft type, flight route, and death toll are established. The reason the jet fell so fast is not, and will not be confirmed until the NTSB completes its review of the wreckage, weather conditions, and any recovered data.
Sources:
youtube.com, wpbf.com, sanluisobispo.com, us.cnn.com, floridatoday.com, wbtv.com
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